I was wondering what the path is to become a videographer at a dz. I know there's a lot involved in making a good video and I was wondering what path I need to take and what skills I need to hone in order to become a good videographer. Any advice would be appreciated :)

I was wondering what path I need to take and what skills I need to hone in order to become a good videographer. Any advice would be appreciated :)

Become a good skydiver, then it's just a matter of learning to frame-up good looking shots (and remembering to turn your cameras on).

The basics would be to learn good RW skills. You have to be able to stay with whatever you're filming, so being 'relative' is the key. If you can do good RW, that means you can stay with stuff.

It also doesn't hurt to get your canopy control skills down. You may find that the sopt/opening altitude are sometimes not always within your control (to a point), so being able to get home or land off with no problem can be a plus.

More or less, forget about flying camera until you're within 'striking distance' of actually doing it. USPA says 200 jumps, so get yourself to 180, and then look into picking up a camera and talk to the local camera guys about some tips for getting started. Too much planning ahead before then is probably a waste of time, time you could spend just becoming a better overall skydiver.

Once you have some 'fun' camera jumps under your belt, it's up to the DZ how you go about getting on the staff. Each one will have different requirements, just ask what the deal is and get to work.